Cable binding

ABSTRACT

A cable binding which comprises a toe iron for retaining the toe portion of the skiing boot. The toe iron is pivoted on an axis which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ski and is connected to a rack, which extends under the skiing boot. A retaining cable is adapted to be trained around the heel of the skiing boot and at its end disposed adjacent to the toe portion of the skiing boot is hooked into the rack.

United States Patent 11 1 Burger [4 1 Aug. 26, 1975 1 1 CABLE BINDING [75] Inventor: Simon Burger, Dachau, Germany [73] Assignec: Heinrich Wunder K.G., Dachau.

Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 7, 1974 [21] App]. No.: 431,319

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 8 1973 Austria 125/73 [52] US. Cl. 280/l1.35 E; 280/11.35 P [51] Int. Cl. A63C 9/08 158] Field of Search ..280/11.35 Y, 11.35 E, 11.35 A, 280/1135 P, 11.35 F,1l. 5 D,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1905 Andersen 280/11.35 P 1/1967 Ungcr 280/1135 C 3,388.918 6/1968 Hollcnback 280/1135 Y 3,489,424 '1/1970 Gcrtsch ct a1 280/1135 K FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 105.847 3/1965 Norway 280/1135 E 409.731 10/1966 Switzerland 280/1 1.35 Y 1 474,992 2/1967 France 280/1135 E Primary Examiize r David Schonberg Asxs'istant ExaminerMi1ton L. Smith Attorney, Agent. or Firm-Imirie, Smiley & Linn 5 7 1 ABSTRACT A cable binding which comprises a toe iron for retaining the toe portion of the skiing boot. The toe iron is pivoted on an axis which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ski and is connected to a rack, which extends under the skiing boot. A retaining Cable is adapted to be. trained around the heel of the skiing boot and at its end disposed adjacent to the toe portion of the skiing boot is hooked into the rack.

2 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure CABLE BINDING SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes a cable binding which comprises a toe iron, pivotally movable transversely to the skiing direction, and a retaining cable, which forces the boot against the toe iron. The forward end of the retaining cable is hooked into a rack. which is disposed below the skiing boot and connected to the toe iron.

Cable bindings usually comprise a cable, which is trained around the heel of the boot and exerts a pull on the heel and is connected to a tightener lever, which is interengageable with the teeth of a rack which is secured to the ski in front of the skiing boot. The heelpulling cable acts on the skiing boot to force its toe portion against a toe iron.

Ski bindings of that type do not permit of a lifting of the heel of the boot to the extent which is required for a convenient control of the skis by a skier who is climbing or practices crosscountry skiing on level ground.

To eliminate this disadvantage, safety ski bindings have been proposed which are provided with a crosscountry skiing attachment. These bindings comprise a soleplate, which is pivoted on a forward transverse axis and has transverse bores, in which adjusting bolts bent at right angles and belonging to a heel tightener are inserted and held in tapped portions. That design has the disadvantage that the engagement of the adjusting bolts with different transverse bores of the sole plate is a complicated operation.

Finally, known heel tighteners for ski bindings comprise a pulling cable which is secured in transverse grooves of a turntable which can be swung up; said grooves permit of an adjustment of the cable in the longitudinal direction.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple cable binding, which enables a lifting of the heel from the ski to an extent which permits of a convenient control of the skis by a skier who is climbing or practices crosscountry skiing.

It is another object of the invention to enable a rigid fixation of the heel to the ski by the binding as a result of a simple manual operation by a skier who intends to practice a downhill or slalom run.

Finally, it is an object of the invention to protect the adjustable parts of the binding as far as possible against being soiled or blocked by ice and snow.

Further details of the invention will be explained with reference to the drawing, which is a side elevation showing by way of example an embodiment of the cable binding according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cable binding comprises a toe iron for retaining the toe portion of the boot. The toe iron may have any desired design, eg as described in the copending patent application Ser. No. 387,658 of the same applicant. i

The cable binding according to the present application is designed like the one which has been described in the copending patent application Ser. No. 387,658 of the same applicant with the only difference that the rack with which the retaining cable interengages is not disposed in front of the boot but is disposed under the boot on the underside of the toe iron or soleplate. This results in further advantages of the binding. To facilithe same design as the toe iron of the above-mentioned prior patent application but may have a different design, of course. As has been mentioned in the abovementioned patent application, the toe iron serves to retain the toe portion of the boot and is secured to a soleplate 6, which at its rear end is provided with cable guides 7 on opposite sides. As has been mentioned hereinbefore, at least one rack 26 extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski is provided on the underside of the soleplate 6.

A fixture 10, which consists preferably of plastic material, is secured with screws to the ski 9. The toe iron 1 is mounted on the fixture 10 for a pivotal movement about a pivot l 1, which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and parallel to the tread.

A heel-pulling cable 14 is guided in the guides 7 and at its end near the toe portion of the boot is provided with a U-shaped member 33, which can be inserted into the spaces 25 between the teeth of the rack 26. To ensure that the U-shaped member 33 will be held in the tooth spaces 25, the latter are rearwardly and upwardly inclined toward the heel of the boot.

A heel downpull 29 is secured to the rear end of the heel-pulling cable 14 and engageable with the heel of v the boot.

The heel downpull 29 consists of a heel tightener, which has a rocker 31, which is pivoted to a U-shaped member or cable or the like 30, which has free ends that are connected by an equalizing spring 32 to the heel-pulling cable 14. In this embodiment the U-shaped member 33, the heel-pulling cable 14 having two courses extending on opposite sides of the boot, the equalizing spring 32, which is also disposed on opposite sides of the boot, and the U-shaped member 30 or the like means which connect the rear ends of the springs 32 form an endless heel-pulling element, which virtually encloses the boot except for its toe portion.

In the drawing, the binding is shown in position for crosscountry skiing. For a downhill run, the heelpulling cable 14 is hooked into respective downpull hooks 28 on both sides of the ski.

What is claimed is:

l. A cable binding for releasably mounting a skiing boot on a ski, comprising a soleplate which has a surface for supporting the boot and means for pivoting the soleplate to the ski adjacent to the toe portion of the boot on an axis which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ski, said soleplate having means for retaining the toe portion of the boot on the soleplate and following the movement of the toe portion of the boot about said transverse axis, a flexible cable which is detachably secured to the underside of said soleplate and extends in a rearward direction on the sides of said soleplate and around the heel of the boot, at least one rack hav-' ing a plurality of tooth spaces which are rearwardly and upwardly inclined, said rack being disposed on the underside of said soleplate and extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski and serving for a releasable fixation of said cable, and means provided on said cable and interengageable with a selected tooth of the rack.

2. A cable binding as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said cable comprises springs on both sides of the heel and is provided with a rocker behind the heel. 

1. A cable binding for releasably mounting a skiing boot on a ski, comprising a soleplate which has a surface for supporting the boot and means for pivoting the soleplate to the ski adjacent to the toe portion of the boot on an axis which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ski, said soleplate having means for retaining the toe portion of the boot on the soleplate and following the movement of the toe portion of the boot about said transverse axis, a flexible cable which is detachably secured to the underside of said soleplate and extends in a rearward direction on the sides of said soleplate and around the heel of the boot, at least one rack having a plurality of tooth spaces which are rearwardly and upwardly inclined, said rack being disposed on the underside of said soleplate and extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski and serving for a releasable fixation of said cable, and means provided on said cable and interengageable with a selected tooth of the rack.
 2. A cable binding as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said cable comprises springs on both sides of the heel and is provided with a rocker behind the heel. 